1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and a device for the continuous casting of metal strands of high-melting, metals, in particular of steel strands, with cross-sections close to the end dimensions, according to the principle of the communicating pipes, where the casting metal, in each case, is pressed from a pressure vessel through, in each case, a channel pipe into, in each case, a continuous casting die.
2. Brief Description of the Background of the Invention Including Prior Art
A multitude of continuous casting methods are known for the production of semi-finished materials or, respectively, blanks for roller mills. Some of these methods are also being used in industrial production. Circular curved mold machines or bow-type continuous casting machines, vertical bending continuous casting plants, pressure casting methods, and horizontal continuous casting methods, are some of these methods.
The known methods either entail technical problems or they are very expensive in the set-up technique and furthermore represent a high requirement in personnel and investment costs. Powerful and high throughput plants, in addition, are very inflexible in the kind of products they can produce.
In particular, the requirement of a casting plant corresponding to the preceding considerations for the production of final dimension close cross-sections is inadequately met by the state of the art. A known method for the production of this steel strands with a continuous casting die of very narrow cross-section suffers from substantial casting technique problems, for example, the cleaning of the casting metal bath surface in the die of the slag is made very difficult due to the very narrow cross-section. Moreover, the problem of the casting up at high casting speeds remains unresolved.
A further, also unsatisfactorily resolved, problem is the slag collected in the continuous casting die, which requires not only substantial expenditures for the casting powder, but also imposes substantial requirements on the casting operators. Because of this last requirement, insufficiently trained personnel seems to be the cause of many casting errors and faults.
A further problem of the known continuous casting methods is the reoxidation of the steel melt before and during the casting process. Thus, for example, the pipe between the ladle and the distributor has to be removed for several procedures, whereupon a reoxidation of the flowing casting stream occurs immediately. Substantial time and cost problems arise in the region of the so-called intermediate distributor. The voluminous distributors have to be aligned precisely above the continuous casting die, which becomes more and more of a problem in case of very narrow strands.
All continuous casting methods applied under large-scale industrial conditions are associated with the disadvantages of a large requirement in personnel in the technical casting process at the ladle, the distributor, the dies. In addition to substantial costs, there result also large deficiencies in the performing and guiding of the process and in the quality of the products.
The present invention starts from the state of the art, as described in the "Handbook of Continuous Casting" by Herrmann Verlag, Aluminium, Dusseldorf, Edition 1958, page 691 with picture 1930, and page 694 with picture 1940.
UK Patent Application No. GB 2,116,888 A to Evegny Alexeevich et al. teaches a semicontinuous casting apparatus, where a mold is employed for withdrawing cast metal.
British Patent Specification No. 967,699 to James Nelson Wognum teaches a continuous casting method where molten metal gradually solidifies and emerges continuously below the mold sections in the region 13 as a solidified cast billet strip.
Accordingly, either a sharp transition from the vertical into the horizontal or only a vertical withdrawal of the strand are known in a system of upward rising casting and a communicationg pipe of a stationary vertical or horizontal continuous casting die associated with reoxidation and pouring cup funnel, a fixed position vertical or horizontal continuous casting die.
Accordingly, with a system of the casting poured from bottom and a communicating pipe, there is known a pouring cup to which reoxidation adheres, a fixed-position vertical or horizontal continuous casting die and either a sharp transition from the vertical into the horizontal or only a vertical strand withdrawal.